1. Field of Invention
This invention pertains to cleaning devices for print heads in ink jet printers.
2. Description of Related Art
In U.S. patent applications Ser. Nos. 09/594,692 and 09/594,681, each filed on Jun. 16, 2000, each incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, a mechanism is provided for wiping print heads of an ink jet printer and for cleaning the wiping mechanism. The wiping mechanisms disclosed in these applications include a flat plate on which resilient blades are mounted to wipe each print head. The flat plate slides in a straight path between guides, moving the wiping blades past the print heads. The print head wiping blades are cleaned with an absorbent material located at one end of the straight path.
This invention provides a rotary wiper mechanism for cleaning and/or wiping ink jet print heads.
This invention separately provides a wiping mechanism that moves ink jet print head wiping and/or cleaning structures in a circular path that lies in a plane parallel to the nozzle face of the ink jet print heads.
In various exemplary embodiments of the wiping mechanism according to this invention, the wiping and/or cleaning structures for wiping and/or cleaning the nozzle faces of one or more ink jet print heads are mounted on a rotating rash plate. The rotating rash plate may have different sizes and/or shapes including a half-circle shape or a quarter-circle shape. In various exemplary embodiments, for each of the print heads to be cleaned, at least one wiping and/or cleaning structure is provided on the rash plate spaced from a center of rotation of the rash plate at a radius corresponding to the location of the print head nozzle face to be cleaned. In other exemplary embodiments two or more print heads are cleaned using the same wiping and/or cleaning structure. A scraper and/or blotter element is provided to clean and dry the print head wiping and/or cleaning structures. In particular, the scraper and/or blotter element extends radially from the center of rotation of the rash plate. The scraper and/or blotter element is stationary. Thus, as the wiping and/or cleaning structures mounted on the rash plate move past the print heads to remove ink and/or debris from the nozzle faces of the print heads, the wiping and/or cleaning structures on the rash plate rotate past the scraper and/or blotter element. Thus, the scraper and/or blotter element removes the ink and/or debris from the wiping and/or cleaning elements so that the wiper and/or cleaning elements will remain able to efficiently clean the corresponding print head nozzle face of the ink jet printer in which the rotating cleaning mechanism according to this invention is provided.
These and other features and advantages of this invention are described in, or are apparent from, the following detailed description of various exemplary embodiments of the systems and methods according to this invention.